Second Chances (episode)
The USS Enterprise-D finds a second Will Riker on a planet that he helped evacuate eight years previously. Summary In 2361, then-Lieutenant William T. Riker, a member of the operations division, was helping evacuate the planet Nervala IV. When he beamed up to the through a distortion field, an unusual transporter accident duplicated him and sent one copy to the ship. The Potemkin was unaware of the duplication and left the other copy on the planet. By 2369, Will Riker is now a commander and serving on the when it finds and rescues the duplicate Will Riker. The story revolves around Commander Riker and Lieutenant Riker trying to come to terms with each other's existence. After eight years in solitude on Nervala, Lieutenant Riker is not the career man Commander Riker has become, and the two have conflicts. The lieutenant, who chooses to go by his middle name "Thomas," has also remained deeply in love with Deanna Troi, his girlfriend at the time he was stranded, and hopes to resume their relationship. In the end, however, the passage of time proves too much to overcome and the two realize they cannot continue their relationship. There is a parallel plot arc involving a return to Nervala's surface, which is only accessible every few years due to the storms which prevent transporter and shuttlecraft travel. Thomas Riker goes on to serve aboard the . Memorable Quotes "If you met a double of yourself, would you have difficulty interacting with him?" "I think so." "Why?" "I am not easy to get along with." : - Data and Worf "You know, I've been thinking we should probably let Dad know what happened." "I'm sure he'd be thrilled to know there are two of us." : - Commander Riker and Lieutenant Riker Background Information * This is the first Star Trek series episode to be directed by LeVar Burton. He later directs , as well as many episodes of Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise. * Dr. Mae Jemison, the first female African-American female astronaut in space, has a cameo as Palmer. * Thomas Riker later appears in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode . * A duplication of this nature also happened in . In that story, Kirk is split into good and evil twins. In the entire crew of the USS Voyager was duplicated. * In the early stages of writing the episode, the production team briefly considered killing off Will Riker and having Thomas join the 's crew as his "replacement". Tom Riker would have replaced Data at Operations and Data would have been promoted to First Officer. * A little error made its way to the final version. In minute 16, when Riker shouts "I gave you an order..." one can see where the picture is joined. It is evident at the bottom at Will's arm. * As of this episode, each of the five regular male actors have worn two different colored uniforms. * It has not been revealed what post Lieutenant Riker held aboard the Potemkin, but script materials suggested he might have taken over the operations manager position in an unused storyline. Video and DVD releases *UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 75, . *As part of the TNG Season 6 DVD collection. Links and References Guest Stars * Dr. Mae Jemison as Palmer * Jonathan Frakes as Thomas Riker (uncredited) References 2361; Betazed; distortion field; ''Gandhi'', USS; Heisenberg compensator; Janaran Falls; Lagana sector; Nervala IV; Nervala station; Nightbird; poker; ''Potemkin'', USS; Risa; terraforming; transporter; trombone; Valerian root tea Related stories * (Tom Riker's next appearance) * Bantam TOS: "Spock Must Die!" (transporter duplication story) |next= }} Category:TNG episodes de:Riker : 2 = ? es:Second Chances nl:Second Chances